Therese and Isabelle
Therese and Isabelle
| 14 May 1968 (USA)
Therese and Isabelle Trailers

Two young girls experience awakening sexuality in the heated atmosphere of a Swiss girls' boarding school.

Reviews
Lin Tomas

************* spoiler alert *************** I am so glad I got to see this wonderful movie.Is there anything more romantics than this line from the movie said in monologue, "We hugged to our hearts all the Thereses and Isabelles who would make love to one another later with other names" I wish the producers would re-release this movie in colour to capture the beauty of the school grounds and the actresses.One of my favourite scenes in the movie is when the camera is panning away from the couple inside the chapel with the monologue lending images through words. I have written down, word for word, the scene inside chapel. Isabelle is waiting for Therese inside the school chapel Isabelle: I missed the train Therese: I missed you Isabelle: I missed you too! Therese: Come closer, you're too far away. Let me do it. Isabelle: If we get caught? Someone may come in. Therese:I don't careTherese pulls her down to the floor and then we don't see the couple, just hear Therese in monologue:I tore her uniform and crushed her beneath, Blood rose in to my cheeks, in to my throat, Her hand was making it difficult for me to breathe, I was sobbing without a sound, without tears, Isabelle was sobbing too. She pressed her hand against my uniform, I dug her neck into my teeth,.............. NO typo- that's what she said :) Her lips tried to find mine, in my hair, in my neck, in the folds of my uniform, I pushed her against the floor, I nailed her hands against it with the palms of mine, I hugged her with all the strength with my repentance, I breathed her in. I held her tight against my belly, and made loin cloth of myself. She was melting my ankles and knees into delicious decay, I burst forth warmth like a fruit, I was filling with the same liquid sweetness, while pins were softly tearing against me, oh so softly. I was following everything in sight, could see with my inner eyes the light in her flesh. In my head I had a Therese, with open legs straining up to the sky, who was receiving all that I was giving. We hugged to our hearts all the Thereses and Isabelles, who would make love to one another later with other names. We rode entwined down a slope of shadows, we held our breath so that life and death should come to a halt. I stormed her mouth as one storms a blithe city, I was hoping to plunder and destroy both her entrails and my own. Isabelle cried in panic. I persevered. Isabelle called for help. Isabelle: I can feeling it climbing my legs, its coming. Therese: Tell me Isabelle: I love you Therese: again Isabelle: I love you Therese: again Isabelle: I love youSo the girls are making out inside, meanwhile outside the chapel, a school teacher/counselor is showing parents around the school and says, " this used to be the chapel, our girls make use of it for dramatics" Hilarious! I also noticed catholic guilt in this scene, where Therese talks about crucifixion with "I nailed her hands against it with palms of mine" after all they were making out on the floor of the chapel!! I think the character of Therese is very bold for exploring masturbation, especially after her first sex encounter, which may have helped her in her self awareness. She seemed more accepting of herself, her situation with her mother and step father and Isabelle. Its very arousing to see it someone finger herself under the sheets, the beauty of the scene is it was portrayed without showing any skin unlike La Vie d'Adèle (blue is the warmest colour). This movie was written and made way ahead of its time. I wish more people would watch it!

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noirmoon

This is a film.., not porn.This is a wonderful film!!! Full of tender moments and memories!! A beautiful piece of work!!! Excellent!!! For intelligent, viewers only!!!If you are a film lover. A romantic. A person who has loved deeply, this is your film!!!!It has a beautiful surreal quality. Fine acting and directing. Watching this film made me remember my first love.Thi is a film for those who want to reflect on life, love and the meaning of loss.Highly recommended for all film lovers.

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lazarillo

It's kind of interesting reading some of the negative raps on this movie. Yes, it is in black and white--so is "Citizen Kane" and any number of other classic movies. The girls are a little long in the tooth to be schoolgirls and the nude scenes are pretty tame (but there certainly are some in the unedited version). However, considering that hot lesbian action between actual schoolgirls is a no-no even today in most countries, it's not surprising they didn't try to pull it off in 1968. Besides, it was necessary that at least one of the actresses be older as she had to play the same character as both a schoolgirl and a middle-aged woman.I'm sure this movie is not exactly like the book (few movies are), but I was impressed at how it managed to combine memorable passages from the book with discreet and tasteful visuals to create some truly startling scenes. (And this is no mean feat--witness Adrian Lyne's ham-handed attempts at this in his recent adaptation of the literary classic "Lolita").This movie also deals with a lot of themes that were pretty taboo at the time--pre-marital sex, lesbianism, female masturbation--in a tasteful, non-exploitative way, which many people probably won't appreciate today living in the age of Howard Stern. This movie certainly inspired a lot of later movies-- "Don't Deliver Us from Evil", "Heavenly Creatures", and the more recent "Lost and Delirious". It's less melodramatic than any of these--nobody commits suicide or is brutally murdered-- but then again most real-life adolescent lesbian relationships don't end in murder or suicide. If you're a Howard Stern fan you probably will be bored with this, but if you don't object to subtle, classy European art films this is pretty alright.

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Curtis Mark Stratmeyer

You hope for a good film, you get promised a good film, you pay good money for a film, you view film and... oh jeez, its a load of crap!Disappointment #1: Its black and white. My fault. Read those labels!Disappointment #2: The "girls" are clearly in their late twenties. Now I really have to work hard to believe this story, but wait...Disappointment #3: There is no story! I won't spend much effort describing how thin the plot (and I use the term loosely) is. There is no drama. I expected to see them meet, do things together, friendship deepen, etc. It doesn't happen.Disappointment #4: Practically no nudity. If you're not going to provide any cinematic value, at least let me see some pretty, nude women! Why do you think people would buy this film anyway? For the record, the women are beautiful, and you do see them naked from the waist up for a few seconds. Not enough to even make it to the "tease" level. Stories can be very erotic without explicit graphics if told with style, but such finesse is beyond the range of this director.Summary: A complete disappointment on every level.

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